THURSDAY, Nov. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Osteoarthritis (OA) in the hand suggests an increased risk for future OA in the hip and knee, according to a study published in the November issue of Arthritis "&" Rheumatism.
S. Dahaghin, S.M.A., of Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and colleagues examined radiographs of the hands, hips and knees of 1,235 participants in the Rotterdam study without hip/knee OA at baseline and after 6.6 years. The researchers measured participants' C-telopeptide degradation product (CTX-II) levels at baseline, and assessed their risk of future hip/knee OA.
Overall, 12.1% of participants developed hip or knee OA, 19.7% of them with hand OA versus 10% of those without, the authors report. A family history of OA heightened hip OA risk; being overweight also aggravated knee OA risk, the authors found. High levels of CTX-II increased both hip or knee OA risks.
"The presence of hand OA at baseline showed an increased risk of future hip/knee OA (higher for hip OA than for knee OA)," the authors write. "The concurrent presence of hand OA and other OA risk factors or high CTX-II levels further increased the risk of future hip/knee OA."
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